Decomposting the Dead

Over the past several years, “green” cemeteries have been popping up in Canada, the United Kingdom and the U.S...even here in New Hampshire.

A Swedish company is taking the concept one step further. Promessa Organic AB has developed a technique for composting bodies completely. It involves freezing the corpse with liquid nitrogen until it becomes brittle, then vibrating the cadaver until it breaks down into a fine powder. After a few more steps, family members receive a box of remains that will biodegrade in a shallow grave within twelve months.

The process is called promession and clearly, it’s kind of creepy to explain. So far it’s only been tried on pigs and cows. But the first promatorium could open in Sweden as early as next year. James Glave told us more. He’s a freelance journalist who wrote about promession in the July/August issue of Walrus Magazine. He joined us from Bowen Island, British Columbia as part of our Next Green Thing series.

Walrus Magazine: Decomposting Bodies: What's the Greenest Way to Dispose of Human Remains?

(Photo by hubb-a-dubbs via Flickr/Creative Commons)